Meatpacking and Poultry Industry Conditions
2005 Reports by the Human Rights Watch and the Government Accountability Office
Blood, Sweat, and Fear,” a report published by Human Rights Watch, found that the industries’ largely immigrant workforce “contend with conditions, vulnerabilities and abuses, which violate human rights.” The author, Lance Compa, has been speaking and writing about the report throughout 2005. The author interviewed meat and poultry industry workers in Nebraska, Arkansas and North Carolina, company officials, and community, religious and immigrant groups in writing the report. Safety and injuries, discrimination against immigrant workers and company actions to suppress workers’ rights to form unions were uncovered and a set of recommendations was developed.
The Government Accountability Office was asked by Senator Edward Kennedy’s office (D-MA) to review and identify the key safety and health issues in the meatpacking and poultry industries, and to address the role of OSHA in protecting the safety and health of workers. The GAO report found:
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Dangerous line speeds
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An absence of injury and illness monitoring by OSHA
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Intimidation that leads to under-reporting of injuries
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Department of Agriculture inspectors without adequate training for recognizing hazardous conditions
Both reports found dangerous line speeds in meatpacking and poultry plants where injury rates are three times that of other manufacturing sectors. The reports call for government intervention, research on line speeds and injuries and laws and policies to ensure the protection of immigrant workers rights.
In order to read these reports, please contact the Occupational Safety and Health Office of the UFCW International Union, or click below to download:
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